There are two current mechanisms used for hot-start valve manipulation: a cable and housing or cable operated systems used for manipulating a carburetor body-mounted valve or a manually manipulated carburetor body-mounted valve assembly 10a as is shown in FIG. 1a. The manually manipulated carburetor-mounted valve needle 18 requires the rider to take one hand off the handlebars and reach down to the valve location, grasp the valve handle 12 on the carburetor 30 to withdraw the valve needle 18 to admit atmospheric air 21. The act of manipulation is necessary whenever a restart is required or desired when the engine assembly is at operating temperatures or hot-start conditions. The act of removing the rider's hand from the handlebars and looking at the carburetor 30 in order to locate and manipulate the valve is time consuming and can be difficult during racing when rapid restarts are desired. These movements must be reversed to again replace the valve needle 18 under running conditions.
Cable-operated systems 10b allow for a handlebar located pull for remote activation and are an improvement over the carburetor-mounted valve as shown in FIG. 1a. This system uses a cable 13, connected to a lever that is mounted to a handlebar-mounted clamp, usually the backside of a brake clamp or incorporated into a clutch mount. Clamping along a frame of a motorcycle fixedly holds a housing 14 for the cable 13. The movement of the cable 13 within and relative to the housing 14 results in a precise movement used to open and close the valve needle 18. Free play adjustment is required to ensure proper valve needle 18 positioning in the carburetor body 30. This adjustment ensures that the valve needle 18 is not held out of its position in the carburetor body 30, effectively activating the hot-start system and introducing air 21 into the intake passage during normal operating conditions. It also ensures that when the lever is pushed, the cable 13 is sufficiently withdrawn as to provide adequate removal of the valve needle 18 from the carburetor body allowing the additional air into the intake passage that facilitates starting. Because of the necessity of regular adjustment to optimize the operation, cable operation is not adequate for a robust system.
What is needed in the art is a system that does not require adjustment. Additionally, there is an unmet need for a means of activation would allow for accurate sensing of the need for activation of a hot-start valve and would automatically activate or automatically allow activation of the valve. Additionally, an electrical system allows selective locking-out of the activation of the valve.